Sarva Village’s Government School Shows the Way to Others

The Government Middle School in Sarva village in Bhind District of Madhya Pradesh could well be just another one of the 1.5 million primary and secondary schools in the country. There would be little reasons to take note of such a school in remote village in the state.

The school in Sarva has just 10 teachers and eight classrooms, where 168 students are hoping make a brighter future for themselves.

But the turnaround seen in the school after support from Coca-Cola and its partners has caught the attention of many.

When the SRF Foundation and Coca-Cola’s Support My School programme decided to support the school, they focused on five key aspects – attendance, discipline, campus cleanliness, health and hygiene and the utilisation of school resources appropriately.

The support helped catalyse change in the school and all-round help was becoming available- something which had not been seen before. The principal of the school played an important role in leading the change. The local panchayat contributed funds which helped in cleaning the wall of the school.

With the hectic activity, more government officials began to take notice of the school and their visits and support to the school also saw an increase.

The results began to show up soon. The overall attendance increased to 90 per cent from 75 per cent earlier. The attendance ratio of girls was found to be better than boys. The girls of the school participated in the programmes very actively.

Bhind district shares its borders with Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. The land in the district is very fertile and the Chambal and Sind rivers, along with its tributaries add to the richness of the soil. According to the 2011 census, the district has 1.7 million inhabitants, a jump of nearly 19 per cent of 2001 census. It has 837 women per 1000 men. The district’s female literacy at 63.14 per cent lags the male literacy at 85.4 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development data for 2014-15, there are more than 840,000 primary schools in the country. The school in Sarva village is now showing the way to others as the sarpanch and teachers from nearby Mewat and Gwalior are visiting the school to learn from their experiences.

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola system in India is comprised of Coca-Cola India Pvt. Ltd. (CCIPL), the concentrate manufacturing entity and 15 authorised bottlers of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), which are responsible for the production of ready-to-drink, non-alcoholic beverages under the Trademarks of TCCC, their distribution and sale in the territory of India. The system also comprises the India branch office of Coca-Cola India Inc., which provides guidance in relation to development of business in India.